There are many ingredients you can use in your cooking that add flavor but not fat. Remember, fat is a flavor carrier and enhancer, so when you reduce it in a recipe or formula you must compensate by adding high-flavor foods. Luckily, there are many of these foods that not only add flavor, but also add vitamins, fiber, and other nutrients to your diet.

Herbs

Herbs are some of the best ways to punch up flavor in low-fat recipes. There is a huge selection to choose from, both fresh and dried. Many are easy to grow, on the windowsill or in your backyard. Some of the newer culinary trends call for using herbs in sweet baked goods and sweet spices in main dishes.

When using dried herbs, crumble the leaves between your fingers to help release the aromatic oils. This pressure and the heat from your fingers will make the herbs taste more intense.

Dried herbs are three times more concentrated than fresh, so adjust recipes accordingly. If a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of dried herbs, 1 tablespoon of fresh is the appropriate equivalent.

Table 1–2 Herbs and Food

Herb	Flavor	Complements These Foods
Basil	Lemony, peppery	Tomatoes, chicken, greens
Oregano	Assertive, peppery	Tomatoes, vegetables, lamb
Thyme	Lemony, minty	Fish, chicken, fruit desserts
Marjoram	Woodsy, earthy	Beef, vegetables, pasta, pork
Rosemary	Lemony, warm	Chicken, nuts, pork, lamb
Dill Weed	Earthy, fresh	Vegetables, salmon, carrots
Sage	Warm, earthy	Chicken, turkey, potatoes, soup
Mint	Fresh, clean	Fruit, chocolate, tomatoes
Bay	Woodsy, spicy	Beans, soup, tomatoes, fish
Tarragon	Licorice, earthy	Fish, stews, chicken, vegetables

Condiments

Condiments are mixtures of ingredients that developed in various cultures. These can be added to many foods, including baked goods, meat dishes, pasta, and sandwiches, to add lots of great flavor. Some low-fat and fat-free condiments include:

• Mustard

• Asian sauces

• Salsa

• Ketchup

• Jams and jellies

• Chutney

• Pickles

• Mole sauce

• Flavored vinegars

• Barbecue sauce

Read the labels of these products and choose those which are lower in fat and especially sodium. Many condiments can be quite high in sodium, but you can find lower-salt varieties in health food stores and co-ops.

Heat

Adding peppers, hot sauce, cayenne, white pepper, and other spices to your food will let you reduce fat. These ingredients may also be good for you; studies have shown that eating spicy-hot foods can help lower blood pressure. Remember, the smaller the pepper, the hotter it will be. There's a slight delay between the time you put the food on your tongue and the time you taste the heat because the receptors for heat are located slightly under your tongue's surface. For less heat, remove the seeds and membranes from peppers before you chop or mince them.

Vinegar

Vinegar adds a tart and bitter flavor to food along with some sweetness. You can choose from a wide variety of flavored vinegars that add flavor to foods. Some aromatic compounds that won't dissolve in water will dissolve in vinegar because of vinegar's acid content. Tarragon vinegar, garlic vinegar, herbed vinegar, and fruit vinegars are all easy to make at home. Just place the well-washed flavoring ingredients in a clean bottle and add distilled vinegar. Cover and let stand for 1 to 2 weeks to develop flavors before you use them in salad dressings and sandwich fillings.

Spices

In addition to single spices, a number of spice blends make seasoning your food very easy. They range from super spicy Cajun blends to milder grill seasoning blends.

Some spices have a nutritional component. For instance, curcumin, found in turmeric and curry powder blends, may help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Cinnamon can lower blood pressure and help reduce cholesterol levels.

Table 1–3 Spices

Spices	Flavor	Complements These Foods
Cinnamon	Warm, nutty	Baked goods, poultry, curries
Nutmeg	Lemony, warm	Baked goods, greens, potatoes, beef
Cardamom	Aromatic, pungent	Desserts, bread, fish, fruit
Ginger	Warm, spicy	Ham, curries, fish, fruit, cakes
Allspice	Earthy, citrus	Baked goods, eggs, fish
Anise	Licorice	Stone fruits, eggs, chicken, tomatoes
Saffron	Warm, nutty	Fish, rice, chicken, seafood
Cloves	Spicy, orange	Chicken, fruit, breads, pork
Cumin	Smoky, earthy	Beef, soup, chicken, rice, vegetables
Coriander	Lemony, woodsy	Pork, curry, chutney, lentils

Citrus

Lemon juice, oranges, and grapefruits all are wonderful flavor enhancers that brighten foods and add vitamin C as well as fiber to your diet. Lemon pairs beautifully with fish and chicken and enhances many baked goods. Lemon juice as a glaze, combined with sugar and other ingredients, adds another layer of flavor to baked goods. In fact, lemon can even make foods taste salty, letting you reduce sodium as well as fat.

Alcohol

Alcohol, like fat, is a flavor carrier. Most of the extracts and flavorings we use are made by using alcohol to extract non-water-soluble aromatic compounds and flavors from spices and herbs. If you soak mint in alcohol and compare it to mint soaked in water, you'll see that the alcohol has picked up the mint flavor, while the water has not. Adding alcohol-based extracts like vanilla will brighten food as well and add flavor without adding fat.

You can use alcohol to sauté foods instead of fats and oils. Alcohol can also carry flavor molecules, so some low-fat recipes use alcohol as a flavor carrier. Remember, not all of the alcohol will burn off during the cooking process.

Caramelization

When sugars and proteins are subjected to high heat, the compounds in them break down and reassemble to form hundreds of different molecules that add flavor and aroma to foods. To add a caramel flavor to food, you can add caramel flavoring, but it's also attained by thoroughly browning meats, which caramelizes the sugars and proteins on the meat surface, and by caramelizing sugar, which occurs during baking, grilling, and broiling.

Smokiness

A smoky flavor is a complex flavor involving your taste buds and your nose. It tastes rich, brown, and nutty, with a slightly burned flavor. You can add smokiness to foods by grilling, and by adding certain ingredients. Chipotle peppers, cumin, chili powder, and liquid smoke add a smoky flavor to foods.